BMO Financial Group Reviews

Pros

great for a summer. lots of advancement opportunities for people without high education and understanding management willing to help employees.

Cons

specialized fields have very few openings. most business fields are located in toronto and montreal has very few advancement opportunities

Advice to Senior Management

to keep doing a good job by listening to employees who actually are on field and can provide good feedbacks.

Pros

BMO is committed to diversity, great customer experience, and fairness to employees. There is tremendous opportunity for advancement at more junior levels in both the US and Canada.

Cons

More and more decision making is being done in Toronto, leaving those in the US with little chance to impact the company. Decision making is frustratingly slow and prone to reversal if full concensus can't be obtained. Very little recognition of the competitive nature of the US market; BMO only sees the other Canadian banks as competitors, and those banks cooperate more than compete. Top US employees have limited career advancement opportunities unless they move to Toronto.

Advice to Senior Management

As BMO continues to expand in the US more decisions will need to be delegated to those who run that market. Canadian banking is not like US banking, and BMO must learn that lesson soon to succeed. Speed and conviction will be important to BMOs future. BMO can't please everyone and must make hard choices about what is most important- both internally and externally.

Pros

managers respect their staff in general
good life & work balance
decent work location & environment
relatively clear processes & people respect processes

Cons

compensation is not competitive
low trust from business partners towards IT departments
unclear / unjustified promotions
short vision on staffing & GR engagement

Advice to Senior Management

99% accurate estimation is not a realistic objective
Some Managers should put more focus on permanent staff
Lessons from previous projects should be learned

Pros

Good work life balance for senior managers.

Cons

it is a large company.....lots of paperwork and politics

Advice to Senior Management

talking about being agile...does not make you agile

Pros

The salaries offered to entry level positions are more competitive then most financial institutions.
Employee benefits are reasonable, stock options interesting.

Cons

Management doesn't know what they are doing There is a very high turnover with management and staff, the banks are always understaffed. Do not feel like you are part of a team.

Advice to Senior Management

Make your employees feel like they are part of a team. Include them in the decision making and reward them according to merit.

Pros

- Good benefits
- Competitive salary

Cons

- So many lines of business difficult to move into other areas
- Not all roles are created equal. Cost centers are difficult places to work

Pros

The colleagues around me help get through the days

Cons

Too many projects and meetings.

Pros

Good management
Good life balance. Seldom OT.
fair opportunity to move to other position. Very good training. I turn myself into better person overall.

Cons

The pros will be limited if you have a bad manager. Salary is ok but good bonus if you work hard on sales ranking. Sales target will be increased every year no matter what.

Advice to Senior Management

Area manager needs to be consistance. Changing focus every year is not good. High turn over needs to be address. But that natural of the branch world

Pros

Business work hours Good training

Cons

SALARY!!
Mid-management act like douches and senior management could care less

Pros

income is higher then other banks

Cons

push products, sell sell sell

Advice to Senior Management

less micro management